Education
How we’re solving education issues together
We’re helping kids read at grade level as early as possible so they will graduate from high school.
41% of the 739 kids in our programs are now reading at grade level.
United Way is taking the lead on our local Campaign for Grade Level Reading. This collaborative effort, made up of funders, nonprofit partners and community members, is working to ensure more of our low-income children succeed in school and graduate prepared for college, careers and active citizenship. Imagine the collective impact we can have when everyone comes together to extinguish academic failure from the lives of our children.
Now more than ever, our community needs you, your energy, passion, and commitment. Let’s work together as first responders to meet our community’s greatest needs.
Read to Succeed!
From kindergarten through the end of third grade, students learn to read. From fourth grade on, kids need to be able to read in order to learn.
Education is the cornerstone of individual and community success, and early age literacy is vital to education. We understand the importance of investing in early learning tools that will set students and families up for a lifetime of success. Studies show students reading at grade level are four times more likely to graduate from high school.
United Way receives 3,000+ books for children
Thank you to The Molina Foundation
United Way California Capital Region received a book grant of more than 3,000 new books from The Molina Foundation as part of the #ShareAStory campaign.
United Way is excited to distribute these books to various locations in the Sacramento region so more children in the Sacramento area have access to quality reading materials throughout the year.
Partners receiving books:
Center Joint Unified School District
Elk Grove Unified School District
Robla School District
Washington Unified School District
Summer Literacy Activities
Dowload hundreds of fun learning activities
Summer, while it can be fun and games, is also a great opportunity for children to retain their knowledge. The Literacy Activities Kit is aimed at combatting summer learning loss and preventing the gap in learning so that children may return to school with their knowledge intact and ready for new material.
Here you will find hundreds of literacy activities to help keep your child learning throughout the summer.
September Attendance Awareness Month – Closing Remarks
Attendance is important everyday during the school year, so make every month Attendance Awareness month!
Thank you for tuning into United Way California Capital Region’s call to action this month highlighting Attendance Awareness. As a recap, chronic absence is an underlying issue that often goes amiss and flies under the radar in the education system. We here at United Way say enough.
September Attendance Awareness Month – Part 3
How after-school programs can reinforce good attendance
Afterschool programs can play a vital role by partnering with schools to reinforce good attendance habits. Not only can afterschool programs help with improving a student’s overall academic performance, research shows they can help a student’s attendance record by:
September Attendance Awareness Month – Part 2
Tips for parents and family members
Parents, guardians, and family members all play a crucial role in ensuring their children achieve a good attendance record. It is suggested that students should not miss more than 9 days of school out of the year in order to be on track with their school work and classroom learning.
Reluctance to go to school could hint at deeper issues: struggling in school, bullying, or other potentially serious problems. Take some quite time to talk to your child and find out why they are reluctant to go to school. Reach out to your school for help if you need it.
Good attendance is a high indicator of graduation rates and a great habit to hone for future success in life.
Check out 5 great tips to engage with your child and foster good attendance from www.attendanceworks.org:
About the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
Making a Collective Impact on Education
United Way became the lead convener of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading in 2014. The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading is a nationwide initiative dedicated to empowering young children to read at grade-level by the end of the third grade.
Research shows that proficiency in reading by the end of third grade enables students to shift from learning to read to reading to learn, and to master the more complex subject matter they encounter in the fourth grade curriculum.
Westfield Village Elementary School
Read about the the success of Cady's book club
For many low-income families, every dollar has to be stretched in order to put food on the table. Buying books for their children just may not be possible for some families. However, as studies show, nourishing children’s minds with literature greatly improves their performance in school. And there is no better place to start than at home.
STAR Readers Video
Sponsored by Golden 1 Credit Union
United Way’s STAR Readers project is ensuring students are reading at grade level by fourth grade. So far our outcome is 42% of the 663 STAR Readers are now reading at grade level. Support this project and join the movement to continue to improve the results and shape our future.
Thank you to our generous sponsor Golden 1 Credit Union.
Education Funded Partners
United Way’s certified nonprofit funded partners are the integral forces creating change and bringing to life our vision of stronger and more compassionate communities through our education initiatives.
- Amador-Tuolumne Community Resources
- Boys & Girls Club of Placer County
- Boys & Girls Club of El Dorado
- Boys & Girls Club Greater Sacramento
- New Morning Youth & Family Services
- Sacramento Chinese Community Service Center
- Yolo County Children’s Alliance
- Yolo Family Resource Center (Davis Bridge)